Learning Words in a Second Language

Is word learning different in a second language? Clearly, we believe it is different in some ways. We would not have written this book if we thought otherwise. Research and theory about the vocabulary acquisition and instruction of native English speakers has been very influential in shaping the way we think about how to teach vocabulary to second-language learners, but research and theory on bilingualism and second-language acquisition also suggest that there are important differences between instruction in a first language and in a second that we need to attend to in order to increase instructional effectiveness and efficiency. One source of differences between firstand second-language vocabulary development stems from learners’ degree of proficiency in the second language. A second stems from learners’ level of proficiency in the mother tongue. State-reported data indicate that there were an estimated 5.3 million English language learners enrolled in U.S. public schools (preK through grade 12) for the 2008–2009 school year. This number represents approximately 10.8% of total public school student enrollment (National Center for English Language Acquisition, 2011a). Additional data indicate that the number of ELLs in U.S. public schools increased 51% between the 1998–1999 and 2008–2009 school years, with increases in 11 states of over 200% (National Center for English Language Acquisition, 2011b). In this chapter, we take up three major topics: First, we consider the vocabulary learning task that students face across the K–12 years. Then we consider the role of individual, home, school, and instructional context in second-language vocabulary development. Finally, we turn to the main theme of the chapter, effective vocabulary instruction.